In the Summer Heat
by SolidScriptJess
Summary: Freshman year at Magnolia University has finally ended, and Juvia, Erza, Levy, and Lucy plan to celebrate with a vacation. But when Juvia burns down their hotel room and the four girls are forced to room with four boys in a small, remote cabin, their relaxing vacation turns chaotic-especially when they realize they all live in the same apartment building back home. AU. NaLu


**Hey everyone! Before this fic gets started, I wanted to do a quick explanation of things. My name is Jess, and I'm an incoming college freshman, so I will be very busy! I will try to update once a week, but because my chapters are generally pretty long, that won't always be the case, so try to bear with me!**

 **This is an AU fic, but I want to keep everyone in character, so if you see any OOC, just point it out in a review or a PM and I'll try to fix it! Also, though this will mainly be a NaLu fic, I will have the other pairings of Gajevy, Gruvia, Jerza, and maybe some others here and there depending on how the plot works itself out.**

 **This first chapter is a bit slow and** _ **very**_ **long, but I hope you all enjoy it anyway! If you like it, leave me a PM or a review so that I know to continue!**

 **Oh, and real quick, special shout-out to my friend, Teaghanzilla, who helped me bounce around ideas for this story. I probably wouldn't have even gotten to the point of posting it if it weren't for her helping me take my ideas to the next level.**

 **Happy reading!**

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"Finally!" Tightening her short ponytail, Lucy jumped from the back seat of Erza's scarlet convertible and stretched her hands up to the blinding sun, going up on her tip toes to fully elongate her curvy form. The parking lot pavement scorched the bare soles of her feet as she reached back in the car for the rubber flip flops she'd discarded at some point during the three-hour ride from Magnolia. Though the ride was long enough to make the muscles of her back twist into knots, just one glance around the resort they'd be staying at for the next week was enough to make it all worth it. Trees surrounded them on all sides, looming up into crisp, clear skies; the hotel was a short three stories tall and constructed of wood that helped preserve the feel of being immersed in nature; birds sang lilting tunes as they soared over a glinting lake not too far in the distance. Lucy's skin was already itching with the urge to throw on her bikini and jump in the water, washing away the layer of sweat that was sticking to her skin.

"Wow," Levy breathed beside her. "The air here is so _fresh!_ "

"I can't wait to try out the lake," Juvia said, joining the pair.

Lucy and Levy took a step back from her, eyes wide.

With a frown, Juvia asked, "What?"

Erza, unaware of the awkward pause, rounded the car, arms adorned with her many bags and suitcases already speaking. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, girls. We still have to check in, unpack, find out when breakfast is—" With a gasp, the red-head broke off, nearly dropping her precariously-held luggage.

"What?" Juvia demanded, hands fisting at her sides.

"J-Juvia," Lucy started, eyes still round and unblinking, "your hair…"

Juvia reached up absently, fingering her blue tresses. "My hair?"

"It's a mess," Erza deadpanned.

Jaw gaping, Juvia rushed to the side mirror of Erza's car and inspected her reflection. True to her friends' story, her hair was ravaged. The blue locks that were normally tamed into perfect curls were now sticking out in every direction, poofed out to twice its size with frizz, and was tangled into a gigantic knot at the back of her head. Shrieking, she would have collapsed to the pavement if it weren't for Lucy and Levy, who had come up and gripped her arms.

"It's not that bad, really," Levy lied, a smile plastered on her face.

"She's right," Lucy continued. "Just run a brush through it a few times and you'll be perfect!"

"Lucy, Levy," Erza directed, "after I get the key, take Juvia to the room so people don't stare at her."

Juvia nodded vigorously in agreement while Lucy responded with, "Got it."

Grabbing the other three suitcases from the back of Erza's car, the group of girls rushed into the hotel, Lucy and Levy blocking Juvia from anyone who tried to stare. The inside of the resort was at least quiet, most people likely inside their rooms preparing for dinner since the sun had just begun to set. Only one person was in the lobby with them, and he had the back of his raven head turned from them as he spoke to one of the two men working the front desk. Erza approached the deskman that wasn't currently occupied and began the check-in process.

A moment later, she turned around with a smile, dangling out the room key to the girls. Shoulders slumping in relief, Juvia jumped forward to grab the key just as the raven-haired boy turned to walk away from the front desk with his own key. In an instant the two had collided together, the force knocking Juvia to the ground with a gasp.

"Oh, shit," the boy said, flinching. "I'm sorr—"

Everything in the room froze as the two stared at each other, eyes locking for the first time as they took in who was in front of them. Juvia's mouth flopped open, eyes wide and unblinking as she seemed to stop breathing. No matter how hard she tried not to, she couldn't help being swept up in the boy's hypnotic, dark eyes, the color rich enough to match the spikes of his raven hair; couldn't help her gaze as it was ripped from those captivating eyes and trailed down to trace the outline of his mouth. For a split second, she wondered what it'd be like to kiss those lips, and a blush exploded on her cheeks.

Meanwhile, the boy couldn't stop staring at the birds nest that was currently Juvia's hair, his eyes narrowing more and more the longer he stared at it.

Erza cleared her throat, sending a withering glare to the boy that sent him physically stepping back.

"Watch where you're going next time," he muttered, voice wavering, and then he shoved his hand in his shorts pockets and rushed from the lobby, out into the summer heat.

Juvia sprung from her position on the floor, not affected by her fall in the least, even though there was dust on the back of her jean shorts and a small scrape on her knee. A huge smile stretched across her face as she hopped from foot to foot, staring after the boy.

"Did you guys see that angel?" she gushed, hands linking together over her heart. "I have to go follow him!"

She didn't get one step forward before Erza had grabbed onto the neck of Juvia's tank top and yanked her back into place.

"Juvia," Erza said, "did you forget about your hair?"

Sudden realization hit Juvia like a dead weight, the girl sinking to her knees on floor. Waves of gloom roiled off of her as she sobbed into her arms.

"He probably thinks I'm disgusting!"

Rolling her eyes, Erza turned back to the front desk as Levy and Lucy struggled to pry the girl up into a standing position once more.

"Come on, Juvia," Levy pleaded, skirting around the weeping girl's puddle of tears, "let's go to our room."

"I can't go on!"

Lucy sighed, hands planted on her hips. "The faster you get to the room and fix yourself up, the faster you can go after him and show him what he's missing out on."

"You're right," Juvia exclaimed, popping up from the floor once more. Tears still stained her cheeks, but at least they had stopped flowing. "Let's go!"

Grabbing their suitcases, the three headed off towards room 121, which was all the way at the end of the first hall, not too far from the lobby. Lucy figured Erza had probably requested its convenience so she wouldn't have to lug the dozen or so bags and suitcases up and down the stairs. She didn't mind in the slightest, though—it'd be wonderful to not have to walk very far for breakfast for the next week.

Juvia fiddled with the key at the door for a second, and then the three were piling inside, Levy flicking on the first lamp she saw. Overall, the room wasn't too large, but it was spacious enough for the girls to move around comfortably. Two neatly-made queen beds were pushed up against the wall, a table stuck between the two, and a small TV mounted across from them. Though the bathroom was small, the shower was clean, and that was all that Lucy cared about. Her favorite feature of the room, however, wasn't anything inside it, but rather it was the sliding door that lead out to a quaint patio setting. Peeling back the curtains, the three girls marveled at the expansive lake mere feet away from said patio.

"Wow," Levy breathed for the second time that day. "I can't believe we got such a great room."

"I know." Lucy could hardly contain the smile pinching her cheeks. "This is going to be such a great week."

Laughing, Levy jumped onto the bed nearest the patio, letting the copious amounts of pillows consume her petite form. "Especially after the year we had."

Lucy laid down beside her best friend, her exhausted sigh telling Levy that she full-heartedly agreed. Finally, their freshman year at Magnolia University had ended just two days ago, and it had been rough on everyone. Though being in college and having their own apartment together was fun, the year had been filled with long nights hyped up on coffee, fingers clutching pencils in fierce grips as to avoid from pulling out every last strand of their hair. On top of that, each of the girls had to work in order to maintain their cozy apartments, so if there was a day when they weren't studying, they were busting their butts waiting on the over-zealous customers at the town's most popular bar, Fairy Tail.

Even so, Lucy didn't regret a single day of her life the past year. Working at Fairy Tail had introduced her to so many kind people that she basically considered family at this point. Lucy wouldn't have even met Erza or Juvia, either, if it hadn't been for Magnolia University. Though Levy and Lucy had grown up together stuffed inside an all-girls private school system in Magnolia, Juvia and Erza had attended the public schooling system. It wasn't until a group debate in their rhetoric class that the four had all met, and from there they had been inseparable.

Just as Lucy was about to nod off in the cozy bed, Erza walked through the door, carrying a plate with a single slice of strawberry cake. Behind her, the same deskman she had gotten the key from earlier was panting, arms straining around Erza's arsenal of bags. She held the door open for him with the hand that wasn't coddling her cake, and she nodded her head towards the unoccupied bed.

"Thank you, you can place them over there."

Dropping the bags—none too gently—on the floor, the man straightened up with a grunt.

"If there's anything else you need, don't hesitate to ask," he said with a strained, polite smile.

If Erza noticed, she didn't let on as she returned the smile as he walked past her out the door. The second the door was shut, however, Erza frowned at her cake.

"I seemed to have forgotten my fork in my rush to direct the man to our room." She placed it on the bedside table, giving us a seething glare. "Touch it and your blood will stain these linens."

With that, she exited the room in search of a fork. Levy and Lucy looked at each other and shared a shiver as chills ran down their spine. Neither would even look at the piece of cake for the rest of the day.

Juvia, on the other hand, was completely unaffected. She was sitting on the carpeted floor, working a brush through the poor excuse of her hair as her curling iron heated up beside her. She was fully immersed in her work, staring herself down in the full length mirror she was across from, not even a little aware of what was going on around her.

Levy looked between the sky, the piece of cake, and the girl ravaging a brush through her hair, and frowned. "Will we even have time to swim today? The sun is going down pretty fast."

Sitting up, Lucy considered. "Well, I've never been night swimming before. And with how hot it was today, I'm sure it won't be too cold to do it tonight. Would that be okay?"

"That sounds great!"

With a grin, Lucy shot up form the bed and worked on unzipping her suitcase. "Awesome, I'm going to get ready now then."

From a compartment, she tugged out a pink, stringy bikini and bounded off towards the bathroom. She changed quickly, and after a quick fix of her messy ponytail—and a short pep-talk to herself on how good her body was looking in the new bikini—she switched with Levy. As her blue-haired best friend changed into her suit, Lucy went over to the patio doors and stared off towards the lake, imagining herself jumping in that very second. Just the thought of it had her bouncing from foot to foot. She hadn't gone swimming in two years and this was the perfect place to break that streak. The water was clear and rippling and calm, almost _begging_ her to come in and—was that who she thought it was?

Squinting, Lucy pressed her face up against the glass of the door, scrutinizing the group of four guys who had just sauntered up to the lake, hooting and hollering and throwing punches into each others' sides. At the head of the group was a boy with raven hair and drooped eyes. Lucy was sure of it—it was the boy from the lobby.

"Juvia!" Lucy squealed.

"I'm busy," the bluenette responded automatically.

"But look! It's the boy from earlier!"

Stopping mid-curl, Juvia dropped her iron back to the floor and joined Lucy at the door, a lock of her hair still steaming. As soon as she saw that Lucy was telling the truth, she pressed her entire body up against the glass, her breath fogging it up whenever she could remember to breathe. Her eyes were all over the boy, who was now shirtless, the sun illuminating his perfectly cut chest as if it was her personal present, sent by the heavens. The blush of her cheeks grew deeper and deeper the more she stared, but she couldn't take her eyes off of him. He was addicting. He was art. He was a god. He was her prince charming. He was—

—taking off his swim trunks.

After a moment in which neither of the girls could process what they were actually seeing, they erupted into screams. Levy threw open the bathroom door in time to see Lucy throw herself onto the bed, shoving her head inside the mass of pillows.

"What's wrong?" Levy demanded, joining Juvia at the window.

Another pause.

Levy shrieked and joined Lucy on the bed, groaning about how her eyes would be burning the rest of the night.

Juvia was frozen in place, her heart stuttering painfully as she watched the boy's naked form jump into the lake, his friends all yelling and running after him. She knew she shouldn't be watching, but she couldn't seem to make herself stop. He had her in the palm of his hand, and though she was sure her entire body had been painted crimson with her blush, she was all too willing to allow herself to be his puppet.

After a few minutes, the shock for the other two girls had worn off, and Lucy could smell something funny. She sat up in the bed, sniffing the air tentatively. Her eyes scanned the room, but she couldn't see anything out of order. Poking Levy, who was still shoved inside the fortress of pillows, she asked, "Hey, do you smell that?"

Levy sat up as well and took a deep breath, nose wrinkling as she adjusted her orange headband. "Yeah, what is that?"

They spotted it at the same time. There on the floor, right in front of the full body mirror, just a few steps away from their bed, was Juvia's curling iron. _And it was on fire._

"Juvia," Lucy screamed, "you forgot about your curling iron!"

The half-curled bluenette, mind still hazy from the boy's body, looked over to where she had been sitting moments before. But now, there was a small fire spreading across the floor, the flames eagerly consuming the carpeting and inching closer and closer to the bed.

The three girls went into full panic mode, rushing to the bathroom and turning on the sink with fumbling hands. They all took turns cupping their palms, filling them up, and rushing over to the fire to try and douse it. But by the time they would reach the fire, only a few drops would be remaining in their hands, proving to be completely pointless.

"What do we do? What do we do?" Levy cried.

They looked around helplessly, minds blanking, as the fire caught onto the edge of the bed's sheet.

Erza flung open the door, a smile on her face, fork in her hand, and froze at the chaotic site in front of her. Her fork clattered to the floor as she rushed inside, already shouting out orders.

"Juvia, Levy, look for a container or something to fill with water. Lucy, grab this sheet and help me smother the fire."

Everyone sped into action, Levy and Juvia throwing open any drawer or cabinet they could see, and Erza and Lucy tugged off the non-burning bed sheet. On the count of three, the two dove on top of the fire with the sheet, hoping to cut off the oxygen supply. But not even five seconds after they had covered it, the flames began to consume that sheet as well, sending the two scrambling away as the heat lightly singed them. The fire ate its fuel, growing to twice its size in a minute.

"Juvia," Erza called, "any luck?"

The two bluenettes exited the bathroom panting and shaking their heads. "Nothing."

Cursing, Erza pulled herself and Lucy to their feet. "Everyone grab your luggage and get out of here!"

Not wasting a second, they all went to work grabbing what they could and rushing out into the hall. Levy took off down the corridor the second her suitcase hit the floor, muttering something about getting help. Erza had dropped her first load of luggage and went back in for the last four bags. By the time she had come back with those, the fire had entirely consumed the bed closest to the patio doors, and it wasn't slowing down. Luckily, they were all out and safe, and Lucy could already hear all the alarms in the building begin to screech, the sprinklers above activating and effectively soaking them all.

The room door was swinging shut when Erza's head snapped to attention, gaze yearning towards the flames. "My cake!"

She made to rush back inside the room, but Juvia and Lucy held her back.

"You can't! It's too dangerous!" Lucy cried.

Whimpering, Erza outstretched her hand towards the room, gazing longingly at the lopsided cake, its frosting entirely melted already form the heat of the flames. The strawberry slipped off, and then the flames jumped up onto the bedside table and engulfed the dessert.

"No!" Erza screamed, lunging forward, but her friends' grasps were too strong.

"We have to go Erza, come on." Lucy released Erza and started off down the hall with Juvia.

Head hung low, a single tear rolling down her cheek, Erza gathered up her luggage and trudged after them, sparing more than one glance back at the room until it was entirely out of sight.

The group arrived at the lobby at the same time as the firemen crew. Donned in their bulky gear, the crew shoved past the steadily-growing crowd of vacationers that were rushing from their rooms at the sound of the alarms. Slowly, everyone made their way outside by the direction of one of the firemen, and from there it was just a waiting game.

For an entire hour, all the guests stood outside. The sun had finally gone down, as if hiding itself in the safety of the horizon, away from the commotion. Some smoke was clouding the sky, undoubtedly coming from their room, but the wind carried it away, dispersing the bitter smell across the resort. Juvia was inconsolable, head buried in her hands as she rambled on and on about how it was all her fault, and she was so, so sorry. Her three friends gathered around her protectively, uttering words of encouragement and sharing a long, much-needed group hug, which was both to comfort everyone, and also to shield Lucy and Levy from the numerous leers they were getting from the male guests, eyes roaming over the two girls' bikini-clad forms.

Eventually, the crew of firemen exited the building and made to get on their truck, but Erza stopped them in their tracks.

"What happened with the fire?" she asked, arms crossed, mouth drawn into a taught line.

One of the firemen stopped as the rest piled onto the truck. "Was it your room?"

"Yes, mine and my friends'."

"Even though the fire gave you guys a scare, it really wasn't that bad." He smiled softly. "We contained it before it could spread from the room, so the damage was limited to only about half of your room."

All four of the girls sagged with relief of the good news. No one was hurt.

"Did you…find any remains?"

The fireman frowned down at Erza. "R-remains?"

A dark shadow passed over her face. "My cake was left behind in the inferno."

"Cake," the fireman repeated. A bead of sweat rolled down from his forehead as his right eye twitched once. "No, I didn't see any cake."

Erza crumbled to the pavement, shoulders shaking with her tears. "I didn't even get a bite."

Awkwardly laughing, Lucy came over and picked Erza up from the ground, the red-head immediately using the blond as a resting post by leaning her full weight into her.

"Sorry about that," Lucy apologized to the fireman.

"Will she be okay?"

Lucy nodded. "Yeah, it's just been a long year."

"O-okay."

With that, the fireman turned and joined the rest of the crew on the truck. A moment later, they drove off, and a hotel employee began ushering guests back inside their rooms. Soon only the four girls remained, huddling close to each other, Lucy and Levy attempting to console the other two sulking girls. In the quiet that followed, the front deskman that had brought Erza's luggage to the room approached the group.

"Well—"

"I'm sorry!" Juvia interrupted, dropping to her knees and pressing her forward against the ground in a bow. "This was all my fault. I—I got distracted and—"

The front deskman chuckled. "Your fault? I spoke to the chief fireman earlier. He said further investigation would be required, but it would seem the cause of the fire was a malfunction of the outlet you had your iron plugged into. You could have had your cell phone plugged in, and the fire still would have happened."

Juvia slowly looked up, blinking back tears. "R-Really?"

"Really." He smiled softly at her, and then to the rest of the girls. "And if the investigation does prove that to be the cause, then of course none of you will be held liable. The resort will take full responsibility."

The girls broke into grins as Juvia rose to her feet again, each of them silently cheering at not having to pay for the enormous damages the fire undoubtedly racked up.

"In the meantime," he continued, "we'll need to find you four a new room. I took the liberty of checking the list of available rooms after the fire had been contained, and well…there are none."

" _What?_ " they all shouted.

He held up a hand to calm them. "But, there is a cabin available. Though those are more expensive, due to the circumstances we will lower the rate to match that of your previous room. Would that be okay?"

After exchanging looks, the four nodded their consensus, and was handed a new key along with a map detailing how to find their way to and from the cabin.

"Since it's dark out, I'll take you all there tonight and help you unload your luggage. I'll be right back with the cart."

The deskman walked off, only to return a few minutes later, riding on a stout green golf cart. Hopping off, he made quick work of tying all our luggage on the roof of it, and then one by one the girls slid in. With the deskman sitting in the driver's seat, there were only three seats remaining, so Levy ended up sitting on Lucy's lap. Neither of the girls minded though, since by this time they were both shivering with the cold the night had delivered; at least now they had each other's body heat to warm up a little.

 _Maybe the fire had been a good thing,_ Lucy thought. _If we had gone swimming tonight we would have frozen to death._

The ride to the cabin was a quiet one, the girls not really speaking much. Everyone was tired—you could see it in the way their eyes drooped a little at the corners, and in the slope of their hunched shoulders. The lack of light as they drove through the trees wasn't a big help for their exhaustion, either. Lucy felt Levy yawn and stretch a little bit, and Lucy leaned her head against the the girl's skinny back.

"Don't fall asleep yet, Lu," Levy mumbled, gently nudging the blond with her elbow. "We still have to have girl talk."

Lucy groaned. "Girl talk?"

Beside them, Juvia bobbed her head. "Oh yes, there is much to talk about. Including my new love." She clasped her hands together, eyes wide and sparkling as a stupid grin bloomed across her lips.

Overhearing the conversation, Erza leaned back and said, "Juvia, that new love of yours got our hotel room burned down. He's not safe for you to be around. I forbid it."

The sound of Juvia's dreams shattering around her was nearly audible. "B-b-but—he—Erza!"

"No 'but's." Erza crossed her arms over her chest. "My decision is final."

Levy swiveled in her Lucy seat to meet her best friend's eyes, the two immediately erupting into a fit of giggles that was only stopped by the front deskman who slowed the cart down and announced, "We're here."

Suddenly renewed of energy, Lucy and Levy bounded out of the cart, momentarily forgetting about their luggage as they ran towards the small log cabin in front of them.

"Last one there has to buy dinner tomorrow!" Levy shouted.

As soon as the statement left her lips, Erza came out of nowhere, shouldering Lucy so gruffly the blond fell, coughing on a mouthful of dirt. "I refuse to lose a challenge!"

Sputtering out a few blades of grass that had stuck to her tongue, Lucy shoved herself back up and chased after them. Juvia was behind everyone else, slowly jogging, but she kept stumbling, mind still stuck on Erza's embargo on her love life. How could she participate in a challenge when her beloved was out there, smoldering in pain from their forbidden love?!

Levy was the next to be shoved out of Erza's way, though instead of falling in the dirt, Lucy caught her, propelling the two of them forward until they were right on Erza's heels by the time the red-head yanked open the cabin door and stood triumphantly stood in the entryway, fists planted firmly on her hips. Levy was next, followed by Lucy, the two best friends laughing freely as they stumbled inside, clinging to each other to keep steady. When they were balanced, Lucy reached up and tightened the strings on her bikini top.

"Jeez, Erza, you almost took my top off when you—"

Lucy blinked once, twice, three time, arms frozen behind her back as she stared at the sight in front of her. Beside her, Erza and Levy were just as stuck, no one even daring to release a breath as their jaws flopped open. With her head down, Juvia stepped inside, bumping into Erza's back, and flinching back immediately in fear of the repercussions. But when none came, she peered around the group, trying to get a glimpse at what had all the girls so dumbstruck.

The couches in the living room had all been flipped over, stuffing peeping out from a few cushions that had been somehow cut. A table had been crushed into smithereens; a lamp knocked over on its side. But the most appalling sight of all were the four boys standing among the wreckage. There was a looming man with long, stiff-looking black hair and so many piercings that the only feature that was even noticeable on his face were the blazing red eyes that seared out towards the girls. Straddled beneath him was a blue-haired boy with a single, red tattoo adorning his right eye that was partially obscured since his face was being mashed into the ground by an elbow; his limbs were all twisted behind his back, being held together by red-eye's hands. Not too far away was the raven-haired boy from earlier, still naked, and currently pinning a pink-haired boy up against the wall by his t-shirt. Upon noticing the girls' entrance, the raven-haired boy accidentally put too much pressure into his fists, tearing the pink-haired boys t-shirt in half and exposing the muscular chest beneath.

All at once, the four girls screamed, covered their eyes, and ran from the cabin, Erza already seeking out the deskman to spill his blood.

* * *

 **Originally I had planned on keeping the confrontation between the boys and the girls in this chapter, but since it's already at 5k words, I decided it would be best to stop now before you all got exhausted.**

 **I hope you all liked it! If you did, please leave a review so I know to continue!**

 **Also, don't forget to follow me on Tumblr (solidscriptjess) to get updates on the story, sneak peeks, and a bunch of Fairy Tail love!**

 **-Jess**


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